Hurrrrray !!!!!

...for Marie Michelle Gagnon !!!!

Way to go, kid !

Congratulation from

Bertstravels

The Hyena laughed

Ant is preparing dinner.
When we were shopping in Maun, Ant bought a string of farmer's sausages. He intends to fry them, two each, along with ready made mashed potatoes, ( add water, whip well, put some butter in frying pan and mashed potatoes on top, fry till brown underneath, flip over and wait till they turn brown on the other side )
then an orange for desert.
...
The mash-browns are almost ready and Ant is preparing the sausages....
It starts to rain.... not just a little.. within a minute it is pouring... we escape to the cruiser and find refuge there.... we talk about all manner of things....

I keep looking at the cooking site which is sheltered underneath a tarpaulin, strung from cruiser to a tree.
The flame of the cooker is blueish. 
Then Ant and I see the Hyena at the same time. She comes out from behind a dense bush. Without a moment's hesitation she trots up to the cooker, grabs a sausage and since they are still linked, the Hyena succeeds in taking off with all six sausages.
It all went so fast, Ant barely had time to rip the truck door open, call the Hyena a few choice names and the animal is gone.... sausages and all...
The rain stops as abruptly as is started.

We sit on the running board of the cruiser and eat mashed potatoes.

I am certain I hear a Hyena laugh in the distance.

Bertstravels.

(excerpt from my book: Safari Africa, 2011)

About Lions, Hyenas and Painted Dogs

Let me tell you something about Lions, Hyenas and Painted Dogs.
From "General Perspective":
"Lions are the noble beasts of the African bush and steppe.....
The King of Beasts"....  and so on

Hyenas are sneaky, thieving, carcass devouring, curiously laughing beasts, not to be trusted.

Painted Dogs are cruel marauding packs of efficient killers.

Now let me look at those three from a different, my, perspective:

At a kill the male Lion will inevitably eat first. Then the female, who in most cases has indeed made the kill, may take her fill, and then, if something is left over, the babies, according to their age and strength, may also partake of the meal. But if there is nothing left over, the baby goes hungry and in the worst case scenario, the baby starves to death.
If a young, strong male Lion, in a struggle for pride supremacy, has defeated the King of the Pride and driven him off, to take over the pride as the new leader, he first and foremost will kill all the infants sired by his defeated predecessor. Thereby he insures that his genes find an outlet.

The Hyena will, either in co-operation between male and female succeed in making a kill, or as is often the case, they may finish what a pride of Lions had started.  If they have youngsters in their den, they will eat from their kill, quickly return to their den, and, regurgitating, they will make sure to feed their offspring.

Painted Dogs also hunt in packs of males and females. They will gorge themselves on the meat of the kill, return to their lair and. also regurgitating, they will assure the survival of the young.

So now, you tell me which is the nobler of the three ?
The egomaniac, lazy, baby killing Lion, or the sharing, offspring-loving Hyena or Painted Dog.

I may be over-simplifying this issue, but that's the way I see it.

You want to argue ? Write to 
Bertstravels...

(excerpt from my book:  "Safari Africa, 2011)

A Comparison

                                                     A "Spotted Hyena"

A Painted Dog

The Boss of the Pride: 

When your heart skips a beat...-3-

There were but a few white clouds
in an otherwise blue sky.
Our canoes drifted quietly down the slow flowing
Zambezi river. Now and then a lazy stroke with
a paddle to keep the  bow pointing down river.

Hippos wallowed in the shallows near the shore.
Their quiet, content grunting once in a while
interupting the silence of High Noon

Kelvin estimated the temperature to be about
40 C. in the shade. Now and then I filled my Tilley
hat with water and put it back on my head
allowing the cooling water to run down my body.

Crocodiles of varying sizes populated the shore line,
wide gaping jaws catching what little breeze there was.
My camera shutter-release finger was working overtime
as we drifted closer and closer
to one of the sleeping crocs.
A little closer...
... now another foot closer.
The Croc awoke, or maybe it had not been asleep at all,

and with one gigantic leap into the river, it cleared
our boat, just feet in front of our bow.
In retrospect it was clearly a desparate attempt
to get away from us

at the time, however, when I saw its
yellow-greenish underbelly
it looked very much like an attack.
It made my heart skip a beat or two.

Soon we were back on the gently flowing river
and from then on
we stayed well away from snoozing Crocs.
***********
P.S. sorry about the "out of focus" shot of the
airborne Croc. It all happened so fast
that not even the auto focus could keep up with it.

When your heart skips a beat ( #1 )

Morning light breaks through the canopy and although it's only about 6.45AM the cool of the night is giving way and it's getting warmer.
Our progress is slow, which suits me fine. It gives me time to look at the plant life around me.
Moses, our guide, gives us the "stop" sign.
We come to a halt and I place my tripod with camera atop in front of me.
There is a group of Sable Antelopes. Magnificent animals. Black with a white underbelly and horns like scimitars curved back and looking formidable.
Some minutes later we get the "Stop" signal again from Moses.
"I think I hear lion up there", he whispers.
I have not heard a thing except for the wind in the Acacias.
"Stay put here" Moses says. " I climb tree and look."

He shoulders his rifle securely and begins to climb a Maponi tree which has grown at a 60 degree slant.
We watch him.
Christopher points straight ahead of us.
I look in the direction of his outstretched hand and I see:
A Lion head framed in the thicket, his yellow eyes staring straight at us.
The camera on the tripod in front of me.... I look through the view finder and at the same time I trip the shutter....  again and again and again.

I look up and the Lion is charging at full speed at us. There is no time to be afraid. You cannot hide behind a tripod. Christopher and I simply freeze.
The charging Lion comes to within about 10 meters of us (Christopher claims it was more like 5 meters max.), then he 
stops abruptly, grass and earth flying all around him. Then he turns and disappears off to our left into the bush.

Moses comes down from his tree faster than I have ever seen anybody do this. He had tossed his gun down in front of him to make his descent easier. Of course, by the time he is down from the Maponi and grabs his gun, the Lion has abandoned his charge and is long gone.

It's easy for Chris and me to turn pale. But if you have ever seen a Shona turn light grey, it's a sight to behold.

It is only then that I start to shake a little. Chris is totally silent and Moses has "fear" written all over his face.
Of course, it is the fear being confronted by an angry Lion and of losing a client or two.

Once everybody has settled down a bit, Moses explains that this "Shumba" only made a "Pretend Charge."
"He feeding behind bushes.  Lion angry we take away his dinner." Lion just says: "Go away"
Lion not want eat nice tourist from Canada... Lion eat gazelle..."

In spite of these assurances I remember well that "my heart skipped a beat."

Christopher Weare...remember ?

(excerpt from my book: "Safari Africa, 2011")

When your heart skips a beat...(.#1 cont.)

These Sable Antilopes were smarter than we were.
They took flight some time before the Lion charge.

White bellied, white cheeked, pitch black body
and scimitar like horns.
The Sable is a formidable looking antelope.

Moses up a tree,
in more ways than one.

Have you ever seen a Lion stare at you
from the bush ?